Cuca reunites with Gabigol at Santos after eight years, striker was 2018 top scorer | OneFootball

In his fourth stint at Santos, Cuca will work again with Gabriel Barbosa, eight years after their last spell together.

Globo.com reports that he was hired in late July to replace Jair Ventura. He oversaw 27 matches, with 10 wins, nine draws and eight defeats.

Santos exited the Libertadores in the round of 16 and were knocked out by Cruzeiro in the Copa do Brasil quarter-finals. In the league, Cuca led a revival, lifting the team out of the relegation zone to finish 10th on 50 points.

For Gabigol, Cuca’s arrival proved pivotal. On loan from Inter Milan, he played 52 games and scored 27 that season, including 14 in 23 under Cuca, 13 in the league and one in the cup.

He ended the campaign as top scorer in the Brasileirão with 18 and in the Copa do Brasil with four, the first time any player led both competitions in the same year.

Now on loan from Cruzeiro, Gabriel Barbosa has 12 appearances and seven goals this season. He is joint top in the league for Santos alongside Neymar with three each, as Santos face Cruzeiro in the eighth round.

Source: Globo.com